there is a chance she does not return. and it is because of this she does not tell KING WAYLAND where she is going. explanations are for people with thicker ties. (or given by the selfless). 

she has not walked among the public in some time. even before her foray with father winter, she largely only accompanied FERNANDO SILPH when he requested. otherwise, her time was spent training - martial arts, mounted combat, etc. 

she did earn her badge from sullivan (a hard fought battle and she'd barely scraped by), but the memory is hazy - laced with pink mist. 

she approaches on lyune. the gargantuan salamence lands heavily beside the small team. she slips from his back, grazing her fingers against his side as she goes. the dragon's tongue forks out, tasting the others. his one good eye blinks steadily, tail twitching with anticipation. 

she raises her gaze to meet the others'. and then slowly draws the leather cord from her neck. she sidles next to eva and hesitates, then holds it out to her. nods.

"i don't know what waits on the other side," she says, ignoring unnecessary introductions. her anxieties are plain on her features. lyune shifts, grumbling lowly. 

"but are we all prepared?"

Eva Morales skyler dross Melody Miro John Sullivan

☉

"How is it," Skyler drawls, moving closer to Melody and the rest of the group, "that whenever there's trouble you're smack dab in the middle of it, Mel?" The fact that the same could be said of Skyler herself (and that more often than not she's the instigator) is a fact masterfully avoided.

John Sullivan is met with an amused flash of teeth and a raised eyebrow. "What, and miss out on all the fun?" 

They converge on a lighthouse that is familiar to Skyler only from afar. She nods towards the Head Professor Eva Morales and the newest addition to their group, freya morningstar , keeping quiet while a plan takes shape. Though its details sail spectacularly past Skyler's head, the gist of it is there. For the most part. Hopefully.

Not unlike John Sullivan , the captain regards authority, and those who see to exact it upon others, with no small amount of contempt. Given Hoenn's mythology and what they were setting themselves against, perhaps Skyler's presence here extends far past the casualness of her words.

A rebellion against the status quo, maybe. An attempt to sever the ties between the ocean and sky, should one attempt to overrule the other. Ripping mythological hierarchies apart in the name of freedom.

But these thoughts are buried deep beneath a surface of insolent casualness, betrayed only in a dangerous, steely flash of silver as she looks up. 

"Ready as I'll ever be," she answers freya morningstar , calling a Kingler to her side. Another presence draws closer to the ocean's surface, waiting. Watching. Its intentions flowing through Skyler's veins like the coming of the tide.

Free me.

"Let's get this show on the road."

Eva Morales Melody Miro John Sullivan  freya morningstar

☉

freya nods, relieved and clearly grateful that eva won't accept the scale. she puts it back around her neck and slinks back from the crowd of people. raising a hand, lyune is there to greet her, scaled nose pressing against her palm. her stomach still twists, nerves prickling.

there is a chance she - they - do not return. briefly, KING WAYLAND crosses her thoughts, but that's a flitting thing she stifles before it can choke her. this is more important. 

lyune lowers onto his haunches so she can mount him once again. her fingers tighten against his rough scales, heels pressed down in the stirrups of his saddle. there is a moment of silence, quiet with anticipation. 

"go!"

freya reaches up to touch the stone twined in her braided hair. it glows faintly as lyune rises, neck drawing back as a low grumble gathers in his throat. his roar is magnificent and terrifying as he finally bellows, light gathering around his body. bones shake and shudder, reforming. 

the z-crystal comes next. power surges from her touch, arcing down her shoulder and crawling greedily over lyune's scales. the purple aura burns, rolling like a wildfire, and lyune's throat bulges with the energy, gathering in a beam that will fire when their power coalesces. 

Eva Morales Melody Miro John Sullivan skyler dross

salamence mega-evolves
salamence prepares devastating drake to open the portal

☉

This venture is, Skyler recognizes as the machine whirrs to life at Eva Morales 's prompting, a latch-ditch effort. Haphazardly slapped together at the last minute, held up by a mix of sheer stubborn determination and blind faith that Skyler isn't quite sure she shares. Much like freya morningstar , she's a last minute addition.

In the end, it hardly matters. She's here for her own purposes. And she could hardly let Scallywag down after his pitch.

Crackling awareness creeps along her skin, tightens her throat, sharpens her senses, and Skyler leans into the feeling much too easily. Habits are tough to break. Addictions, more so.

As if waiting to be summoned, drifting seaweed materializes back into existence behind the captain. Wayward tendrils coil around a wrist, a shoulder. One rests quietly at the base of her throat.

"Kingler, go." Heeding Skyler's command, Kingler scuttles forth to join the other pokemon, its shape warbling in odd angles, expanding and contracting with a series of cracks until a final surge of primal energy reveals its shift into Mega Kingler. It joins the others, erecting a WIDE GUARD around human and pokemon alike. Just in case.

"Curse of the Drowned." She feels it before the last syllable's out of her mouth, black ichor sloughing from Dhelmise's tendrils to pool darkly on the floor. It twitches erratically, then shoots forward to add to the quickly rising energy levels, funneling it towards - hopefully - another dimension. 

- mega evolves kingler
- kingler uses wide guard just in case
- dhelmise uses its ghost z-move, curse of the drowned

Eva Morales Melody Miro John Sullivan  freya morningstar

☉

freya gasps as she comes to, palms finding slick, frigid ground. she stands unsteadily and her hands come back out, finding purchase on lyune's sides as she staggers to a stand. the salamence curls its tail around her protectively and the rumbling growl in his throat turns her stomach.

the air is stagnant. choking. and that feeling. that oppressive feeling of the monster forces itself upon her. she grimaces and with dismay, forces herself to look at rayquaza's remains. 

her shaking hand finds purchase on the scale around her neck. in this place, it is cold. 

she casts a glance at their primal stone, shattered. it doesn't matter. she'd known there was a chance this would be a one-way trip. 

she mounts lyune. "it has started to hunt us. we have to move." will that starlit lake still be here for respite? in this frozen wasteland? "and find rayquaza." if it's still alive.

John Sullivan Melody Miro skyler dross

☉